


How to Kill a Nightmare

by sedna_mode



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 14:57:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1095346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sedna_mode/pseuds/sedna_mode
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Frost is tracking a Nightmare left over from the latest battle against Pitch Black. But when it heads for Berk and inexplicably vanishes, Jack must prepare for the worst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to Kill a Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Tumblr's HiJack week prompt for day 4: Nightmares.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Jack’s heart sank as he realized where the Nightmare was headed. It was the last of those cursed horses of Pitch’s and he was determined to track it down and exterminate it. How this particular one had broken away and taken off during the latest battle was beyond the frost spirit but frankly, he didn’t care. Because right now, that Nightmare was making a beeline for Berk. And that meant Hiccup was in danger.

"Don’t you dare touch him!" Growled Jack as he put on an extra burst of speed and tried desperately to catch up to the beast before it reached the village.

 

"Urgh no! No no no!" Jack spun in circles in the village square, looking everywhere, trying to pick up the scent again. “I lost it! How could I lose it?!”

"What did you lose?" Hiccup came up behind him, arms full of some twisted scrap metal destined no doubt for the forge and a slight frown on his face. He leaned in for a quick kiss but could obviously tell Jack was distracted.

"The Nightmare! It’s gone, just… gone! No trace, nothing! Listen, Hiccup, did anything pass through the village in the last ten minutes or so? Like a weird gust of wind, or a shadow, or even just a feeling of uneasiness?"

"No, nothing of the sort, it’s been really quiet today actually. Jack, what is this about?”

"I’m sorry Hiccup, I don’t have time to explain right now, I’ll tell you later. Right now I really need to find this thing.” With those parting words, Jack took off, circling once over the village to try and pick up the trace before heading off over the forest.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless who had just appeared at his side with a quizzical look in his bright green eyes. “I don’t know either bud, he seemed in an awful hurry though.”

He shrugged and resumed his trek to the forge. Toothless fell into step beside him, sniffing the air and casting about.”What is it boy? You smell something?” Suddenly the dragon reared, teeth bared, wings outstretched and a low growl emanating from deep in his throat.

"Whoa, Toothless! What’s the matter?" Hiccup was too distracted by his mount; he never noticed the bit of shadow that detached itself from the base of the forge wall and flowed like sand toward him.

He felt a shiver pass over him and he dropped his armful of metal, catching himself on the wall before he could fall to his knees. Toothless immediately dropped back to all fours, concern in every line of his body as he nuzzled his rider and purred softly.

"I’m fine buddy, just a little lightheaded. It’s all right now."

He shook himself and picked up his burden, making his way into the forge and getting the fire up to temperature for the afternoon’s work, dismissing the incident as he concentrated on melting down the scraps.

 

Jack returned that evening, eyes downcast and dragging his staff, disappointment clearly etched into his face. Hiccup was in his room getting ready for bed when the Guardian floated in through his window and sat on the sill.

"No luck then?" Asked the young viking. "Would you care to explain what the emergency was?"

"Yea, sorry about earlier, I was kinda brusk." Jack sighed and leaned back against the window jamb, one leg inside Hiccup’s room, the other dangling outside. "I was tracking a creature called a Nightmare, one of the Bogeyman’s minions, looks like a horse made of black sand. Remember when I left Berk I said it was because me and the other Guardians were going to fight Pitch Black again? Well we defeated him and he ran back to his hole, but his Nightmares scattered, and this one broke away. I followed it all the way here and now I’ve lost the trail, there’s no sign of it. I’m afraid it’s still hiding in the village, and if it infects someone things could get ugly."

"How so?"

"Well they sit in your mind see, and when you’re asleep, when your defenses are down, they eat away at you, bringing horrible dreams and making you anxious and exhausted so you can no longer function properly. It becomes impossible to get a proper night’s sleep, and prolonged exposure will lead to the eventual shutdown of your immune system; you’ll get sick from exhaustion."

"Can you do anything about it?"

"Oh yea, usually it’s best to just help the person realize that they’re stronger than it and don’t need to let the fear control them. I’ve seen it happen enough times; often once they know what’s going on they can deal with it on their own. But it is also possible to expel a Nightmare by force if it’s grown too strong. I’ve only had to do it a few times though; it’s really exhausting for me and damn painful for the poor clod who has to deal with having both me and the Nightmare in their head.”

"I’m sure you’ll find it, don’t worry." Hiccup was ready to slip into bed; his helmet was put away and Toothless had already gotten comfortable on his slab in the corner. “Come here a bit Jack. Are you gonna stay, or go back out looking for that thing?”

Jack jumped down from the window into Hiccup’s outstretched arms, grateful for the bit of comfort. “I think I’ll go back out and stand watch over the village, this is really bothering me. I’ve never lost track of a Nightmare before in all the times I had to clean up after a fight with Pitch.”

Jack kissed the young viking goodnight before leaping back up onto the sill, watching as Hiccup removed his prosthetic and got into bed. He flew out into the chill night, the wind carrying him up to a ledge in the cliff overlooking the village where he could set up his watch. He settled there for what promised to be a long night, all senses peeled for even the slightest indication that his query was nearby.

 

It must have been well past midnight when Hiccup was woken up by a sound in his room. But this didn’t look like his room at all. “I must be dreaming” he thought, blinking as he took in his surroundings.

It was dark, that was the first thing he registered; he could barely make out confused shapes looming and roiling around him, shapes that seemed to flow and change like running sand. Hiccup tried taking a step, realizing too late he didn’t have his prosthetic. He fell and caught himself on a surface that felt uncomfortably like gritty fish entrails and shuddered as he pushed himself back upright, balancing precariously on one leg on ground that didn’t exactly feel solid underfoot. “Ok, so the best I can do is hop around like an over-excited Nadder, great.”

The sound that had caught his attention rang out again. It sounded like the clash of swords in a raging battle. And was that a dragon’s roar? Hiccup spun toward the source of the sound, trying to locate it through his ever-changing surroundings. There! In a momentary gap between two columns he spotted light, and shapes that looked more defined than what he was standing in. As soon as he located the source, the scene became clear as day, as though he were suddenly standing right next to it. He looked on in horror as his father, sword drawn, led a band of vikings that included all the teenagers against a pack of dragons. Toothless was there amid the dragons, wings wide and teeth bared, hurling himself at the Chief with the ominous whistle-growl only Night Furies could produce.

"NO! Stop!" Hiccup tried to yell but his vocal chords wouldn’t work. He tried approaching the terrible scene before him, but every hop forward seemed to push the battle further away. He looked on helplessly in abject terror as his father drove his sword upward tearing through Toothless’ wing, and Toothless bore down grabbing Stoick’s other arm in his mouth and biting down hard. Hiccup heard bones shatter and his father let out a mighty howl of pain and rage, battering the dragon’s head with the butt of his sword.

"I have to wake up. It’s not real, none of it is real. Please stop. Make it stop!!”

 

"Hiccup! Hiccup, wake up!" Jack’s heart broke as he listened to his boyfriend cry out in his sleep, eyes screwed shut, blankets bunched in clenched hands and tears running down his pale freckled face.

"What’s wrong with him? What happened?" Stoick stood in the doorway carrying a torch. He had run up as soon as he heard his son yell, arriving on the scene just as Jack hurled himself in through the window. Toothless was pacing the room, keening worriedly and nuzzling his rider every time his circuit took him near the bed.

"It’s the Nightmare, it’s got hold of his mind. It’s impossibly powerful though, to have such a strong grip that we can’t wake him up. I’ve never seen a Nightmare do that. Why didn’t I notice it? I should have been able to detect it, I was with him earlier!”

"Can’t you do something?" A note of panic crept into Stoick’s voice as he watched his son thrash under the covers.

"I can but it’s tricky. And it’ll hurt Hiccup. I’ll have to force my way into his mind to be able to fight the Nightmare properly. People naturally have barriers against this kind of invasion but they become weaker during sleep. That’s why Sandy’s job is so important - to guard people when they’re weakest - and that’s how the Nightmares get in. That’s also the only reason I’ll even be able to do this; it’d be impossible if he were awake.”

"I won’t pretend to understand everything you just said, but I do understand this: you can help my son, and I trust you. What do you need me to do?"

"Right. Once I go in, don’t touch us. No matter what happens, don’t let anything disturb us. It could mean I would never be able to find my way back out, or Hiccup’s mind could be irreparably damaged. Toothless,” Jack grabbed the dragon’s head in passing and stared into his eyes, wanting to make sure he would understand, “the same goes for you. If you don’t obey, Stoick is going to chain you up. No don’t look at me like that, it’s for your rider’s good.”

Once he was assured his instructions would be followed, Jack settled himself comfortably next to Hiccup’s bed and lay his head on the boy’s chest, closing his eyes and listening to the racing heart under his ear. The Guardian placed one hand on his lover’s forehead and the other on his stomach, breathing deep as he reached for his power.

His awareness shifted and Jack knew that when he opened his eyes it wasn’t his physical ones. In his mind’s eye, the people in the room appeared as globes of gently glowing fire, securely enclosed and impenetrable as always. All except Hiccup’s. Hiccup’s globe was tainted and dim, disturbing black shadows swirling inside it and barely a spark left holding out in the very heart of it. This was worse than any Nightmare he had ever had to deal with, how was this one so strong? “I’m coming Hiccup, just hold on a little longer.”

 

Jack searched Hiccup’s mind for that one little crack, the breach the Nightmare had made for itself and that Jack would now follow to get into the dream holding his boyfriend captive. The globe pulsed under his touch, trying feebly to keep him out, to protect the mind enclosed within. “I know it hurts but please, please let me in. I’m here to help.”

He found what he was looking for and got to work getting inside. As gently as he could he froze the crack and broke it open just a little wider so he could fit through. The light inside recoiled at the battering, momentarily going out under the roiling black sand. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. It’s the only way, just bear with it a little longer, I’m coming Hiccup!”

 

It was killing him, he couldn’t bear it. No matter what he tried Hiccup couldn’t force himself awake. His head hurt, he couldn’t think, it felt like he was drowning in the disgusting black sand that surrounded him.

His father and best friend were bearing down on him, one dragging a torn and broken wing, the other with a mangled arm dangling at his side, both with open bleeding gashes and wicked ugly grins. “Please no! Stop,” whimpered the boy, curling in on himself.

Just then a flash of pain ripped through him and he brought his knees up to his chin, gripping his head in both hands and crying out. Through the haze of agony he saw the shapes of the man and dragon melt away into flowing sand and he thought he heard a voice he recognized. And then another flash of pain, this one even worse than the last, and he momentarily lost himself, awareness dimming as the sand overwhelmed him. But this time the voice was louder, and it brought him back. He knew that voice, it was Jack’s voice! He could just make out words over the roaring in his ears. “-bear with it… -I’m coming…”

Hiccup drew strength from the familiar voice and the promise it held, enough to uncurl and slowly stand up, glaring defiantly at the mass of sand that surged around him. “Jack! I’m here Jack!”

A streak of white light punched through the darkness surrounding Hiccup, coalescing into the one person he most wanted to see right then. His heart leapt as he reached out for his lover, wanting desperately to make sure he was really there. The frost spirit grabbed the open hands, squeezing them and bringing them up to cool lips. “It’s going to be ok Hiccup, I’m here to help you get out of here.”

"Jack what’s happening to me, it doesn’t feel like any bad dream I’ve ever had, and how can you be here?!"

"This may be hard to believe, but we’re inside your head right now. And you’re right, this is not a normal dream. It’s a Nightmare, the Nightmare I was tracking earlier. But it’s somehow different from a normal Nightmare, and damn powerful. Which is why I had to break into your mind to come expel it by force. I’m really sorry about the pain by the way, that was me; you’re not meant to have more than one person in your head at once."

During their exchange, the darkness around them had begun to pull back and gather in one spot, building up and molding itself into the shape of a tall black-robed man with pale gray skin and shining malicious eyes. “What a touching reunion, I may weep.”

Jack’s mouth dropped open and his eyes popped wide in horror. He spun to face the Nightmare King, pushing Hiccup behind him as he did so. “P- Pitch?!”

The pressure of yet another full consciousness within his mind drove Hiccup to the ground, hands pressed to his temples and a wordless cry escaping his throat.

Jack knelt and put a protective arm around the viking’s trembling shoulders, all the while keeping Pitch in sight as the man started circling the pair lazily. This explained everything: how he couldn’t detect the Nightmare, how it was so powerful, how the infection in Hiccup had progressed so rapidly. “What are you doing Pitch, how did you escape the Guardians? We sent you back down that hole.”

"Really now, I should be insulted. Do you think so little of me that you’d believe I would give up so easily? In all our many meetings, is that the impression I gave you? No, Jack Frost, I had something better in mind. Can’t you see what I’ve done? No? Honestly, I knew you were slow, but this is getting pathetic. You’re here alone Jack. Trapped inside your silly boy’s mind with no way to call your precious Guardians. Where’s that confidence now eh?”

A ball of black sand formed in Pitch’s upheld palm and he hurled it viciously at the pair on the ground. It divided into multiple darts as it flew, attacking from every direction at once. Jack threw up his arms and a sphere of white light grew outward, intercepting and freezing the darts before they could reach their target. The frost spirit jabbed his arm in Pitch’s direction and the light converged on the Bogeyman, forcing him to scatter into a bunch of shadows.

"Quick, Hiccup, before he reforms, listen to me." Jack held the unresponsive boy by the shoulders and whispered urgently in his ear, hoping he would snap out of his stupor just enough to understand him. "I know it hurts, I know it feels like there’s a storm in your head, but you need to concentrate. Pitch is only interested in me, he came here because he knew I would follow and it was a sure way of separating me from the other Guardians. He’s not interested in you. But that’ll be his downfall, because we’re in your mind. Ultimately you have complete control in here. Hiccup, this is important, the key is fear. He knows your greatest fear and he feeds off it, drawing his strength from it. You need to face your fear and find something stronger to sustain yourself and give you the power to fight. I’m going to draw him off but I won’t be able to drive him out, he’s too strong right now for that. It all comes down to you now, I know you’re capable of this."

Hoping against hope that Hiccup would find the strength to become the trump card he really needed, Jack kissed his viking’s forehead, and with a murmured “I love you” stood up to face the rapidly rebuilding shadow.

"Hey, Blackie, what’s the matter? The light hurt your eyes?" Jack laughed as Pitch snarled at him, trying to hold the Bogeyman’s attention so he would disregard Hiccup. "Is that everything you got? Wow, how disappointing, one shot and you’re down!"

Pitch bared his teeth and growled at the taunt. “I’m only just getting started you little piece of- “

"Ah ah ah!" Interrupted Jack, "language!"

With that, the Nightmare King snapped and dissolved into shadowy sand, flowing toward the Guardian. Jack took off, laughing derisively and zig-zagging to avoid darts and nets of black sand that flew his way, all the while widening the distance between Pitch and Hiccup.

 

Stoick sat on a chair in his son’s room, Toothless’ head on his knee and his right-hand man Gobber at his shoulder, staring fixedly at the two still figures on Hiccup’s bed. They had stopped moving completely a while back, and the only indication that they were still alive was the steady rise and fall of Hiccup’s chest and the soft whisper of Jack’s breath. “Something’s not right Gobber. It’s taking too long, something’s wrong.”

"I know Stoick, but there’s nothing you can do. You have to be patient."

"You know that’s not in my nature, I can’t sit back and do nothing. It drives me mad!" The man half-rose from his seat, arm stretched toward the bed as though he intended to reach for his son, to hold him. Toothless raised his head and looked back and forth between the man and the bed, growling under his breath and placing himself in front of the Chief to prevent him from touching Hiccup.

Gobber placed a hand on Stoick’s shoulder, gently pushing him back down and trying to bring the man some comfort. “Remember what Jack said, you can't touch them. You simply have to believe in them now, it’s the only thing you can do.”

Stoick sank back into his seat, shoulders hunched and hands clenched in his lap, growling viciously under his breath, "I hate feeling helpless."

 

All was quiet around him, deathly quiet. Though pain still throbbed in his head, Hiccup slowly rose from his crouch and looked around. Jack was as good as his word; there was no sign of either him or the fearsome man who had attacked them.

"I’m in control here. That’s what Jack said. This is my universe. Think Hiccup, what do you need?" His eyes wandered the seemingly endless expanse of white nothing surrounding him. "Well, honestly, my mind is a bit dull." His gaze landed on his left side where the pant leg dangled empty and useless. To Hiccup’s amazement, as soon as he decided he needed to be able to walk properly, his prosthetic was there at the end of his leg, ready to fulfill its purpose. "… huh. Look at that, Jack was right!"

He chose a random direction and started walking, muttering to himself and trying to recall all of Jack’s hurriedly whispered instructions. Fear, that was the key. If Hiccup could identify and face his greatest fear, Pitch would become weakened and Jack would be able to push him out of Hiccup’s mind. “But how do I find my greatest fear? Will I know it when I see it?”

As he walked, his surroundings changed. All at once he was standing on a beach, watching enemy boats land and faceless foes charge forward.

"Hiccup, what do we do?! Hiccup! Orders!" Confused, Hiccup looked around to see everyone he knew and loved gathered behind him. Jack, his father, the teen vikings, Gobber, the dragons, all looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to lead them against their enemies. "Uh… I, uh…" He couldn’t think, couldn’t formulate a plan, couldn’t find a solution. He froze, mind scrambling as he realized the full weight of their trust in him and his responsibility to them.

"Riders, with me!" Astrid took control, unwilling to wait any longer, getting everyone who knew how to fly onto a dragon so they could attack from above.

"No, wait! Stop!" Hiccup knew that wasn’t the right strategy, but he couldn’t figure out what to do. The riders had barely gotten off the ground when they were caught in a storm of arrows and boulders shot from the enemy archers and catapults. One by one his friends and their dragons fell before his eyes, bodies riddled with shafts or skulls bashed in by rocks. "No… no!"

"Hiccup, orders! What do we do? What do we do?!" His remaining forces were retreating, still looking to him, still hoping for him to lead them. He wanted to tell them he couldn’t, wanted to tell them they put their faith in the wrong person. He watched in terror as they were overrun by the enemy, falling one after the other, still calling for orders, still clinging to the hope that he would get them out of there. The last to fall were Jack, Toothless, and his father, surrounded by hordes of yelling foes, looking desperately for help. In the confusion, he met Jack’s eyes momentarily, and they were cold, accusatory, as if to say "we trusted you, and you failed us. Our lives are on your head."

Hiccup sank to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably, the weight of his guilt crushing him.

 

"Ah Ha Ha!! Can you feel it Jack? Your precious boy is breaking, you've failed.” Pitch seemed to grow taller as he spoke, gathering power to him like a cloak, readying his next attack. Jack lay at his feet, panting, already near his limit after what felt like hours repelling the Nightmare King’s attacks.

"No, I believe in Hiccup. He’s strong, stronger than you give him credit for, and he will be your undoing."

"How loud the cornered dog barks. Give up now, there’s no use resisting. I grow more powerful with every passing second." A scythe of black sand appeared in Pitch’s hands, swinging down toward the frost spirit’s neck. Jack hastily threw up a barrier of ice and snow, but he couldn't completely dampen the blow and he was flung back several meters. Cackling maliciously, Pitch molded his scythe into a bow and arrow, firing a shot at the prone Guardian. Jack flung himself out of the way, knowing he no longer had the power to build a barrier strong enough to resist such an attack. He picked himself up and ran from the Nightmare King, praying he would be able to hold out.

 

Hiccup sat numbly, letting the pain in his head wash over him in full force. He was tired of this terror, tired of resisting, tired of thinking. He sat alone, letting his mind empty and his energy drain. “I killed them,” he thought, over and over, “it’s my fault. They trusted me.”

But one small part of him remained strong, one spark of defiance. He was just too stubborn to give in entirely (he was, after all, a viking). Jack’s words rang in his mind: “you need to face your fear and find something stronger to sustain yourself and give you the power to fight.”

"Something stronger than the fear eh?" Hiccup slowly got back to his feet, breathing deep and summoning up that one little spark of courage. "Yes, I acknowledge that my greatest fear is to fail when people’s lives are in my hands. But all the trust they place in me, I place the same trust in them. They look to me for leadership because they choose to and because they believe in me. I believe in them just as much, and nothing you can show me will change that!" With every word, Hiccup felt his resolve strengthen, and his voice got more and more confident until he was practically yelling at the emptiness before him.

 

"What is this? What’s happening? What have you done?!" Pitch was shrinking again, becoming smaller and smaller until he and Jack were practically the same height.

Jack grinned brilliantly, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand as he stood back up to face the Bogeyman. “Told you. You chose the wrong person to infect, Pitch. I haven’t done anything, this is all Hiccup. You think fear is the ultimate power of control? But you forget, there are stronger forces in this world than fear. Trust, hope, belief, love, courage. You never learn, do you? It’s the same story, over and over. Do you ever get tired of fighting a losing battle? People are strong, capable of overcoming their fears, and you never seem to catch on. You’ll never have ultimate control.”

With all the viciousness of a cornered beast, Pitch hurled all his sand at Jack, hoping no doubt to overwhelm him with the sheer volume of it. With no refinement or direction though, the stuff was all but harmless, and it was a simple matter for Jack to infuse it with water and freeze it solid. He advanced on Pitch, gathering frost around his hands as he did. “Give it up, you've lost. Leave Hiccup’s mind and don’t ever come back.”

Knowing he was trapped, the Nightmare King dissolved into shadows, probably in an attempt to escape the Guardian. “Nuh uh! None of that now.” Jack threw the frost he carried, shaping it into a frozen sphere that trapped and contained the darkness that was Pitch Black.

 

"Hiccup! Hiccup, I’m here!" Jack waved excitedly, one hand in the air and the other clutching an odd black sphere, catching the viking’s attention as he approached. "You did it! You were amazing!! Pitch never saw it coming. Well, he never does really, always thinking people are weak, it’s kinda pathetic and all but- Hiccup? What’s wrong?"

The viking was glassy-eyed, swaying slightly as he stood facing his boyfriend. “I can’t Jack, my head, it’s too much.”

"Oh no, I’m so sorry Hiccup, it’s me. I've stayed too long in your mind. Don’t worry, it’s all over now, I’ll leave right away. And I’ll take Pitch with me." He leaned in and planted a quick kiss on the viking’s lips before taking off, still carrying the ice-prison.

The breach in Hiccup’s mind through which he had entered was still there, marked by a single icicle. Good, that meant no one on the outside had touched them. Jack wormed his way out, freezing the crack shut behind him so it would heal properly. He took a few moments to admire Hiccup’s mind before returning to his own body; it was clear once more, beautifully lit up from within with all the boy’s thoughts and dreams and everything that made him Hiccup.

 

When he opened his actual eyes, it took a moment for Jack to readjust to the real world. He barely had time to realize the sun was rising before he was picked up by the shoulders and found himself staring into the frantic face of Stoick the Vast. “Did you do it? Did you save my son? What happened?”

"Yes, he’ll be fine, just let him rest for today. Having both me and Pitch in his mind really drained him. And me.” The effects of the night’s exertions were quickly catching up to him, he felt like he could sleep for days.

"Pitch?"

"The Nightmare King. That’s why it took longer than it should have, it wasn't just a normal Nightmare. Speaking of which, did you see him when I came back out? It would’ve looked like a moving shadow slipping away, the kind of thing you see out of the corner of your eye."

"No, I wasn't really paying attention to be honest."

"Oh well, it’s no big deal really, he’s probably slunk back to one of his holes. I’m sure I’ll see him again someday.”

Jack went back to the bed, running a hand down Hiccup’s now serene face. Toothless came up beside him, butting his big black head against his other hand. “Yup, it’s over now, he’s safe.” He knelt down and grabbed one of Hiccup’s hands, leaning down until their foreheads touched and finally letting go of the worry he had carried since the beginning of the ordeal. “You’re safe. I love you.”

Hiccup squeezed his hand and smiled in his sleep.

FIN


End file.
